Dodging Councils and Stealing Kunoichi - Strike with the Pointy End
by The Twisted Mind of Ozzie
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki has been locked up for a decade in Hōzuki Castle for a crime he partially committed, his traitorous brother, the not-really-child-of-prophecy, has royally screwed things up. Meeting the god of death, Naruto is given a second chance to squash Akatsuki, make peace with a grouchy fox, dodge a thousand years in prison, and snatch everything his hated brother holds dear.
1. BOOK 1: Strike With the Pointy End

_Pairing: Naruto/Sakura/Hinata/Ino/Haku/Tayuya_

 **Chapter One**

 **Into the stomach of a God**

Thunder cracked, and lightning illuminated the spartan cell, revealing the accumulated grime of a decade worth of isolation. The perpetual rain brought nothing but cold, as the heavens roared and the moon shifted, bathing a malnourished young man with much needed light. His harsh gulps came out as tangible wisps of air.

Once-blonde hair that shone with lustre had become a mockery of its former self; matted, uneven chunks caked with dried blood were all that was left. Cerulean eyes which once exuded feelings of love and hope were dulled beyond recognition. Uzumaki Naruto, heir apparent to the noble bloodline of Uzushiogakure and son to the Yondaime Hokage, slowly threaded his bony fingers together to sustain some semblance of warmth.

The once-tanned flesh of his shirtless body had taken on a greyish hue. Seared onto his skin were numerous black lines, intersecting and pulsating. To the uninitiated, they were incomprehensible scribbles, but to their owner, they were _fūinjutsu_ , designed to keep him docile and subservient. The most prominent of his bindings could be found at the centre of his navel.

They were his greatest secret and his biggest burden.

For behind the Eight Trigram seal lay the most powerful of the Bijuū. The _nine-tailed demon fox._

Ever since the fourth shinobi war had started, and the Uchiha regime had begun, life - if it could be called that - had gotten marginally better for the once blonde-haired ninja, but not by much. While he could relax due to the lack of inmates hounding him about his father, the world outside the prison was falling to darkness, leaving the castle as one of the last bastions of light. The Kyuubi, or as he liked to mockingly call it, his _prisoner,_ found enjoyment in his turmoil as it supplanted the delicate connection tying them together.

A few days from now would mark his eleventh year within the castle's walls, one year more than his last prison. It galled him to think of how Konoha preached ideas of teamwork, loyalty and friendship while he'd obeyed orders like a loyal Konoha ninja, only to be callously betrayed. What a bunch of hypocrites!

He had made a grievous error in stealing the Scroll of Sealing. But he had been desperate. It wasn't fair being failed for asinine things outside of his control. It wasn't his fault his chakra reserves were more than all his classmates _combined._ Self-reflection in his imposed exile revealed facts Konoha had kept hidden from him.

To this day it eluded his understanding. As a ninja, he should not have fallen underneath the jurisdiction of the civilian council. The official reason for his conviction was that his multiple genin exam failures had rendered him a civilian, therefore giving them the power to send him to the hellhole he now resided in.

His brother, Menma Uzumaki, was believed to have been the saviour of Konoha and the coveted child of prophecy, but Naruto knew that wasn't true, the Kyuubi had told him as much. He also knew the Sandaime Hokage knew it wasn't true.

For some reason, the Hokage really didn't like him. When the scroll of sealing had been stolen in his short tenure as an aspiring ninja, and Hinata killed, Sarutobi had convinced Konoha that Naruto was the culprit of both crimes.

Everyone in the Elemental Nations, even his fellow classmates, blamed him - though it's not as if they'd ever liked him in the first place. Ever since he could remember, _no-one_ had liked him much. In his four years as an academy student he'd never made a single friend. The teachers all hated him because of the burden he'd held, and the students all hated him on principle. The general populace of Konoha despised him for his occasional pranks and general sunny disposition, and his brother hated him because… he didn't know.

So instead of anyone stepping forward to defend him, instead of a trial, he'd been shipped off to Hōzuki Castle, beseeching and imploring for someone, anyone, to believe him. No one had.

The memory of the jeers from the crowd, the palpable disgust oozing from the shinobis' faces, and the smug smirk of his brother as he was bound in fetters, had fuelled his nightmares for years. The Kyuubi took special delight in forcing him to review that day in all its glory. Until he stopped caring what Konoha thought of him, stopped desiring to seek their recognition and respect. Stopped dreaming of becoming _Hokage._

Then the Juubi had woken up from its induced slumber due to the actions of a newly risen Madara Uchiha nine years into his captivity, and all hell broke loose inside his seal.

The fox, in a fit of pique, sent all of its corrosive chakra through the gaps of his seal, and in doing so, broke the distinction keeping them as separate entities. Naruto Uzumaki merged with the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Their insubstantial mental link was bolstered by raging, hateful Bijuū chakra, giving way to mental clarity on a level not seen since before the time of the Sage.

He'd made as much use of the connection as he could, sifting through the malevolent beast's head and wrestling with the knowledge its previous containers had amassed over their long lives. Even with all the knowledge at his disposal, Naruto could never hope to use it. The formula branded onto his skin subjected him to chakra deprivation. He had chakra in abundance but moulding it into shape was impossible on pain of a fiery death.

The Kyuubi found his rummaging a nuisance, as though he was a gnat to be swatted. The fox would grab the apparition of his will within their shared metaphysical realm, subjugate it, and show him memories he had no right in seeing. For every worthwhile memory he experienced, he witnessed five worthless ones in their place.

Years ago, he had even seen the Uzumaki matriarch reduced to a drooling mess by the Shodaime Hokage's _wood release_.

The most prominent of the nine Bijuū would do this often. Just when Naruto thought he'd scored jackpot with a memory containing obscure fūinjutsu knowledge, development of Konoha's political idiosyncrasies, or lost kenjutsu forms, he'd be redirected to the time his mother and father were brutally killed.

He was reaching his limit; the degradation of his seal was evident without a constant source of chakra feedback looping through the link and filtering the corrosive properties of Kurama's chakra. The darkness of his cell seemed to be getting closer every day.

His musings were interrupted as bright, unyielding light brightened his cell. Eyes unaccustomed to the light blinked as tears began to sting and pain the blonde, penetrating through the haze of Naruto's mind. Someone was here. That wasn't normal. No-one ever entered his cell. Ever.

"Uzumaki, you're to come with us. Mui-sama commands your presence."

The unforgiving cold was invaded by warmth. That also wasn't normal.

Lightning coalesced into shape as it struck Naruto's immobile body, incurring nary a flinch. "He's out of it. Get him up."

Pain shot through the entirety of his body as he was gripped from the shackles attached to his hands. It wasn't the first time someone had touched him in the last ten years. It was however the first time someone had touched him with some modicum of gentleness.

Lifted to a standing position, and then frog-marched out the door when his legs failed him, Naruto tried to move under his own power - and was dragged when unable. He wasn't given a moment of respite, as he was pulled alongside his escort. Every atrophied muscle in his body protested the movement, but there was nothing he could do to slow them, his pleas fell on deaf ears - And so Naruto Uzumaki, the Child-Of-Prophecy, walked out of his cell, and further out of the depths of Hōzuki Castle.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

"Prisoner number 8965," said a solemn sounding voice.

Naruto still couldn't see, the blindfold atop his eyes restricting his vision completely, preventing him from distinguishing the voice's location.

"Experiment attempt 48," the voice continued.

Light suddenly flooded Naruto's world. The blindfold melted away as chakra was applied to the fabric. Naruto blinked rapidly.

A tall man stood meters away from him, cold penetrating gaze never leaving his form. In front of him was a sight that made his underused eyes widen in shock.

' _The Ultimate Bliss, a box interwoven with a tremendous amount of chakra all neatly tucked inside its gap, from which legend said a wish could be granted to the user who managed to open it.'_ Mito herself had sanctioned its sealing preservation.

It was the Box of Paradise.

"Begin the transfer."

With nary a sound, the seal restricting his chakra melted away; bluish wisps began to ooze from his chakra points, all greedily getting sucked into the singularity of the pulsating box.

"Shiki Fūjin…" Naruto grinned for the first time in years, showing chipped and yellowed teeth. "For neither can live whilst the other survives." He was about to die, but he knew this was something the Kyuubi did not want, as with his death, the fox would likely follow.

His chakra was nearly empty now, as red intermixed with the diminishing blue. Suddenly, terror flooded his mind, but the raw, primal emotion wasn't his own.

A bestial roar escaped his lips, as his eyes turned to slits, his nails sharpened, an ethereal tail of frothing chakra grew out of his back - but by then, he could feel it was too late. Before the chains keeping him in place could be destroyed by his possessed body, darkness overtook him. The last vestiges of his chakra plunged into the box, and the transfer was complete.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto opened his eyes. Surprisingly, they showed a degree of clarity he'd not have expected from his decade long stint in prison. All the aches and pains his body had once suffered had seemingly been cleansed from him, as if they'd been a ruined painting washed away by a dissatisfied artist.

He rose from the ground in which he'd laid with a grace that should have been impossible. Assessing his surroundings, he was surrounded by endless white stretching as far as the eye could see.

" **Greetings, mortal."**

"Greetings?" His voice called out, everywhere and nowhere at once.

Hanging before him was a being straight out of a nightmare. Golden black eyes were obscured by a curtain of tresses, bleached of all colour, from which two horns of crimson peaked from. Its skin was pallid, uncomfortably stretched around its hellish visage, emaciated and exposed beneath the robe A dagger was clenched firmly between its jagged teeth, its lips pulled back in a ghastly grin. He wanted to escape the creature before him, to cast it out of his thoughts and memories, but there could be no denying it.

 _Shinigami._

"You're… The Shinigami?"

He shuddered as the creature answered his reply inside his _head_ , completely bypassing the mental fortifications he'd erected from the knowledge he had soaked from the Kyuubi.

" **The Elemental Nations as you once knew them are coming to an end."** The Reaper's voice cut through Naruto's concentration, like fingernails on chalkboard. Its every word stirred pain behind his temples. The molten gold in the black of the reaper's eyes became incandescent as Naruto tried to squint the pain away, boring into him more deeply than any byakugan, trapping his gaze despite the growing agony. **"We need to** _ **talk**_ **."**

A tear broke from the corner of his eye - not entirely because of the pain, but not apart from it, either - to cascade into the white below, where it was lost to distance and oblivion. The bitterness encompassed him like poison. It was bad enough that he had to live with the Kyuubi when he was alive. But now that he was dead, he'd be forced to fight it in the belly of the death god for eternity. "Does this talk have anything to do with the fact that I am inside your stomach?"

The dagger in the reaper's mouth slipped, clattering near the Reaper's feet as Naruto's tear had failed to do. A solid band of pain crossed his brow as wheezing, mocking laughter reverberated around the expanse. **"I manipulated the pure realm for you to join me on the cusp of the impure realm."**

The Reaper waited, as if it was expecting a response - though it received none. Naruto welcomed the relief regardless and used it to brace himself for when it would next speak. **"Had I not blatantly interfered, you would be living in suspended animation for another thousand years."**

"What…?" Naruto creaked open a bleary eye, not even remembering when he'd closed them. The words sunk in, and he regarded the collector of souls with mounting shock. "A thousand years…" Shock soon turned to despair. "I don't want to stay here for that long a duration! Let me die already. I've got nothing to live for anyway… Just devour my soul…"

The Shinigami stared at him for an age, as though weighing its decision. If it was going to consume his soul, it would have done so already. Instead its gaze became detached and distant - as though it was peering at something only it could see, deep beyond human sight into the abyss.

" **I did not bring you here to claim your soul, mortal. There is an inequity and this needs to change."**

From despair to anger in an instant, Naruto's body tensed, his stance shifting. Everything about him became as if a maelstrom, churning and agitated - and like his namesake, this anger would stop at nothing until all in its path had been consumed. "Fuck the inequity! I'm dead, there's nothing I can do anymore!" he exhaled, pulse racing.

Golden eyes flared as the Shinigami's gaze once more became steely-focused, scattering the storm of Naruto's anger in an instant. **"There's everything you can do.** _ **And you will do it, human."**_

It wasn't a command, it was irrefutable fact.

" **The Uchiha's genjutsu."** The name _Uchiha_ was said with disgust, the growling tone inciting vomit from Naruto. The Shinigami turned away from him. **"With so many thralls under its spell there is no duality between existence and bereavement. Mortals do not fear death. They do not fear** _ **me.**_ **Nor are there any souls for me to reap. This is a transgression that I will not allow to pass."** Ethereal robes billowed in the non-existent wind as the Reaper turned to face him again. Golden eyes wreathed in flame.

" **Undo what has been wrought. This is a request I ask of you, fledgling."** Without waiting for Naruto's response, unnaturally cold hands grasped the nape of his neck, and _heaved._ He wasn't able to even protest, only gag as his soul flowed from the Reaper's mouth, and into his own. Life poured back into his body; Sensation flooded his limbs, enabling him to move properly as he wished.

The words Naruto was going to speak died on his lips as the Shinigami spoke, guttural and commanding.

" **I can not return the yang aspect of your tenant. I can, however, bestow the** _ **yin**_ **, bequeathed to me by your father."** The deity kept him frozen and rigid while the long-forgotten knife discarded earlier, rose in accordance to the Reaper's will. The serrated edges glistened with ectoplasmic residue before the knife was unremorsefully plunged into the Reaper's own stomach, hilt deep. Gore spurted out the wound, wrenching Naruto's stomach from within.

"W-What the _fuck!?_ "

Naruto gasped as the Shinigami dragged out a milky-white substance from its stomach. It wriggled in its grasp, desperately trying to escape. Without a word, the Reaper draped its essence across his prone form, imbuing his body in a warm glow from head to toe. The nine-tails chakra flared around his body, only to vanish in a nimbus of light. He could feel the thrum of his tenant's power just below the surface, waiting to be circulated. The only absence was the voice that followed it.

" **Your chakra has been restored. Use it well on your mission, mortal."**

Expletives erupted from his mouth. "I don't care if you're the Shinigami! I don't want this chakra and I don't want to do any fucking mission!"

The Shinigami's sunken gaze captured Naruto's in their depth. The sheer intensity of its stare, the sudden ice in its expression, was enough to render the blonde mute. Nothing moved. Nothing at all. Except the rise and fall of Naruto's chest.

And then after an eternity of silence, the Reaper spoke with voice dark as sin and eyes cold as the iciest tundra, **"I'm giving you the opportunity to go back and change it all. Cease your incessant whining."**

Naruto lurched, eyes widening. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Direct divine intervention to change his shit life. It sounded too good to be true. His eyes narrowed. "Isn't it a bit too late?" he said, a hopeful shade of cheekiness returning to his voice. "I'm already dead."

The Reaper gave him a flat stare. _"_ **I govern the dead, mortal. I want you to kill Madara Uchiha and his contemporaries, to alter reality itself. Your wretched brother's actions worsened the timeline in ways your mind is not equipped to handle. You are the key to undo it all."**

"My brother?"

 **"Yes. Your brother, the supposed child-of-prophecy, who once stood where you stand now, taking on an insurmountable task and failing abysmally."  
**  
"My brother was sent back in time? But Mito's formulaic studies of the toad sage's prophecy was concluded to be false, there was no distinct correlation between the prophecy being made and for the recipient of that prophecy to then go on and save the world!"

 **"In desiring to save the world how he saw fit, your brother ended up being the harbinger of its destruction."**

His eyes narrowed, and he looked up into the Shinigami's timeless gaze. "How?"

 **"The first time your brother died, he had managed to defeat the puppet leader of Madara's organisation. But arrogance is the folly of youth. Lethargic and energy spent, he was soon captured and his half of the fox demon was sealed, culminating in his death."**

"Hang on a second, did you say first time!?"

 **"The second time your brother died was much sooner, the foolish boy divulged his future knowledge to the wrong people, the knowledge was rinsed from his noggin, and he was subsequently disposed of, by order of Danzo Shimura."**

"Wow… He really messed up."

A rictus of a grin began to form across the Shinigami's face. **"An apt way of putting it, mortal."** The grin subsided. **"Learn from his mistakes, do not attempt to arrange plots based on hindsight, the ripples in time will fracture continuity rendering your past knowledge ineffectual. You are to acquire every morsel of an advantage as you can, as quickly as possible with the power at your disposal, while exposing yourself to as little risk as possible. Whilst my powers are profound, I am unable to change what past me did to change the future. Even though I am sending you back, your brother has already gone back. That event that has become a fixture in time, so you're going to have to deal with another time traveller whose been gifted by my chakra. The life you know was in the third timeline, and when I send you back, it will be the fourth."  
**  
"If this is the third timeline, what happened to me in the first and second?"

 **"You never made it past infancy in the first timeline. The fox speared you through the heart. In the second timeline, Hiruzen Sarutobi convinced your brother to smear your reputation. You were sent to Hōzuki Castle, bereaved and broken."**

Naruto stayed silent, anger and resentment bubbling across the surface, the nails of his hands digging into his palms as he clenched and unclenched them. It reflected a lot about a ninja when one of their students was a twisted individual. Orochimaru had seemingly gotten some of his more extreme attributes from his sensei.

"What's the plan?"

 **"I am going to send your soul back several years before you graduated the academy and you are going to kill Madara Uchiha and prevent his plan from occuring."**

"What's to stop me from being sent to prison again?"

 **"You are going to save Hinata Hyuga."**

Naruto looked thoughtful for a brief moment. "I have no problem with that but what's stopping the Hokage from manipulating events to send me back to Hōzuki Castle? And even if I manage to evade that particular event, he could engineer another one."

The Shinigami gleamed. **"It seems you've inherited your father's intellect rather than your mother's brashness, mortal. From the memories you've obtained from not one Hokage's wife, but two, you have the tools necessary to gather political acclaim. You have the knowledge of Konoha's political and legal system - use it to your advantage, and claim your clan head status. With it, even the** dictatorial **regime won't be able to interfere with your business."**

"But my mother was not of the main branch, I am not eligible to claim the clan headship."

 **"Foolish mortal.** _ **I**_ **am going to give you a gift. To contest the Hokage, you need to be above him on the totem pole. The Uzumaki helped found Konoha, with the title of clan head, you will be above conforming with the Hokage's wishes."**

His eyes widened, "You're going to make me a clan head?"

 **"As the son of Minato Namikaze, you are well within your rights to inherit his estate, but he was not a part of any clan. The degree of relation between your mother and Mito Uzumaki isn't overt, and it's well within my power to alter your genealogy. Once I send you back, Naruto Namikaze will die, and from his ashes, Uzumaki will rise."**

His resolve hardened, and the spark that he thought had long since fluttered and expired burnt once more. "I accept."

 **"Remember my warning, mortal: any advantage, as quickly as possible."**

Naruto nodded, a foxy grin writ across his face. As the Shinigami waved him off, he could feel his soul tear from his body and transcend the plains of time and space.

It hurt.

It hurt a lot.

But throughout the pain, the sly grin did not leave the Uzumaki's face.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

On a warm summer day, the birds chirped, and the hustle and bustle of Konoha's streets were at their peak.

In a dingy apartment underlooking the village, a young Naruto Uzumaki sat bolt upright. The Hokage Mountain barely in the fringes of view.

Across from his bed was a broken mirror, but from it he could see his reflection. Looking back at him was a face he didn't recognise. Red hair, and violet eyes. No whiskers.

"Well, fuck."

— End of Chapter One —

Special thanks to my beta's — Breathofmidnight & Strandshaper.

Inspiration: This story was inspired from Dodging Prison & Stealing Witches, by LeadVonE, the author has given me permission to write this.


	2. The Dissonance of Chakra

**Chapter Two:**

 **The Dissonance of Chakra**

Naruto spent a moment staring at his mirror image. Aside from the vibrancy of his blood red hair and the passionate gleam in his violet eyes, something else had changed.

The sheer potency of his chakra had risen drastically. Even trying to reign it in caused it to lash out and almost burst from the pressure. With one wrong move, his coils would pop and cause his chakra to erupt, potentially crumbling the foundations of his apartment complex.

He rose from the bed towards the window and closed the blinds, basking in the darkness of the room. He had only a small window of opportunity before the Hokage's lackeys searched his apartment for him. Iruka certainly hadn't come looking for him because he felt sorry for him. Oh, no. It was his mission to be Naruto's caretaker. Naruto could see the eyes of his watchers peering into the cracks of his window; closing the blinds would give him an opportunity to think about his next move.

They were his oppressors, wanting to shackle him to their whims. He was the sword deemed fit to strike at any who opposed Konoha, the shield to protect them from their enemies. Well, no longer; Naruto would never let anyone control him again. Not the Hokage, not Danzo, not Akatsuki, not even his brother.

To reach that stage, he needed power, for without power he was helpless, and if he was helpless everything he had would be taken away from him again.

So, what did he have?

Well, with his ample chakra reserves he could do a limited number of techniques. He could call the Kyuubi's chakra to enshroud his body, which would bolster his strength and speed by a considerable margin. His understanding of fūinjutsu eclipsed the entirety of the Elemental Nations, and he was the only foremost expert in the Uzumaki's personal sword and hand to hand combat styles. Mito had even learnt seal-less chakra techniques whereas his mother on the other hand had never learnt more than the combat critical necessities.

In actuality, he didn't have much. Calling his tenant's chakra would instantly alert Konoha's sensors and the Sandaime would know that he had access to the fox. His understanding of fūinjutsu meant squat without the necessary chakra conduits to channel the art. And his body was still growing, so he had no way to use the Uzumaki physical arts of taijutsu and kenjutsu.

He had erected imposing mental fortifications to preserve his sanity and keep the foreign memories under containment lest his mind rupture from the strain. While the memories currently cluttered his mind, his body in the future - or was it the past? - had already assimilated them. The Shinigami hadn't told him that when he went back, his ability to keep the fragments at bay would be affected. He needed to see a Yamanaka psychologist, or his brain would soon melt through his ears.

Even now, he could feel the sharp, throbbing migraine pound at his head behind his eye. It had first started out like this when he was languishing in Hōzuki prison. Debilitating migraines which would prevent him from concentrating on the simplest of tasks, nosebleeds that would leave him faint and dizzy, and when he eventually neared the end of his prison sentence, he would be hit with spasms that made him want to end it all. Naruto's mind had degenerated so badly that not even the Kyuubi's chakra could stave off the effects.

Waltzing into the Yamanaka compound without a transformation jutsu active was akin to suicide, and he couldn't transform - with his current level of control, it wouldn't come close to preserving his identity from direct scrutiny, especially not from ninjas.

He needed chakra paper. With enough, he could expand his options and maybe get the beginnings of a workable plan. He could use containment seals to restrict the flow of his chakra, keeping it pent up and directing it so that it wouldn't impede his control. But, how would he get the paper he needed? He couldn't just make the purchase - he had no money to trade, and Konoha suppliers wouldn't sell to him in the first place. Bribing someone else to get it for him was also risky because if they ratted him out, the Hokage would be very interested in why Konoha's resident jinchuuriki wanted to buy fūinjutsu supplies. Not to mention he _still_ didn't have the money for that.

No, there was really one option available to him. He was going to have to steal chakra paper.

It was dangerous, and the likelihood of getting caught was astronomically high, but if he did it right, he'd be reaping the rewards for years to come.

If all else failed, he could channel the very essence of his life force across non-conductive paper. It wouldn't be nearly as good as chakra paper picked from the First Hokage's wood release trees, but it would do until he could make genin and gain access to the many acres of chakra-conducting flora.

Naruto stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles to get the kinks out, a foxy grin stretching across his face. That would be the first of many steps he'd undertake to show the village who had discarded him just how utterly wrong they were.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Takashi Murakami was a long, weedy-looking man who loved contemporary art, having been instructed into it at the cusp of manhood. It had taken his travels to the land of Wave to come to terms with using chakra paper for his art. Some said Takashi's depiction of dancing chakra had moved the astute clan head of the Uchiha to tears.

He'd arrived at Konoha five years ago, just after the nine-tailed fox's attack. He had gazed upon the untold destruction wrought by the demon that night, witnessed the rebuilding efforts of that terrible day, and experienced the collective sorrow everyone in the Village felt when the Yondaime Hokage was laid to rest in his casket.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the newly reinstated Sandaime Hokage at the time, had invited various labour workers to help in Konoha's reconstruction. Takashi had not been one of them. His invitation had come in the hope that he would hopefully generate traction for the Leaf village. As payment for settling in the village, he'd have free access to the expanses of chakra-infused trees where the most durable of papers bloomed.

He had set up shop on the Eastern side of the village, facing the Hokage mountain. His paintings had given him enough riches that he could retire and never have to worry about where his next meal would come from. Turning the closed sign over to open, he waited for his first customer, lost in his good fortune.

The door to the shop opened, the only sign signalling entry a ding from the door's bell.

"Excuse me," a young sounding voice said.

Takashi looked up from the counter and regarded the small, underweight child in blue shorts and a black tee-shirt with a spiral motif that tickled the shop owner's memory.

"Yes?" He stared at the rapidly closing door, half expecting the boy's parents to walk in after him. Sometimes he got children who ran into the store ahead of their parents in their haste to check out his wares.

"Is this Murakami's chakra store?"

"It is. Tell me, where are your parents, young man?"

The boy stiffened, and Takashi realised he'd made a faux pas. "My parents are dead. It's only my brother and me. It's his birthday tomorrow and I wanted to help with his academy assignment as a gift." The boy looked abashed now, shuffling his feet as a blush dusted his cheeks, highlighting his blood red spiky hair.

"I'm sorry to hear that." His eyes seemed to glisten with untold emotion. He himself knew what it was like to lose the loving familial embrace that only a mother or father could offer.

The boy grinned at him, pearly white teeth exposed. HIs violet eyes glittered. "It's okay, Murakami-san. So, can you help me with the project?"

"Let me see what I can do." The old man rustled behind the counter, fiddling around with various pamphlets. "What is the project about?"

"It's about the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and how he built the surroundings of the village."

Takashi rustled some more, "Are you interested in any particular aspect of that story?"

"Well, he did possess the Mokuton bloodline; do you have anything about that?"

Finally finishing his rummaging, Takashi gave the boy a couple of thick pamphlets. "Make sure to return them when you're done with them."

"Thanks!" the boy said eagerly, grabbing the pamphlets from the old man's hands. Satisfied, he ran out of the shop.

Takashi Murakami would overlook the boy's distinct traits soon after. His red hair and violet eyes would become a distant memory. Even the spiral on his shirt, which had so much history, would soon be forgotten, only to be remembered when it was far too late.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Naruto breathed a sigh of annoyance. Sweat dripped from his face, causing his shirt to cling to his body. His distinguishing features were hidden by a crude face mask, but it did little to relieve him from the harsh weather he was surrounded by.

He shimmied across the ledge of the roof, standing precariously on the edge. He craned his neck to have a better vantage point of the shop, only to curse silently.

It was completely and utterly locked down by various fūinjutsu designed to keep people _in_ rather than _out_. As soon as he touched the chakra papers hidden inside the shop, the lockdown sequence would activate, alerting any local ninja in proximity and summoning an ANBU containment squad.

If he had access to those papers now, he'd have been able to create a generalised feedback loop across the binary sequence of the fūinjutsu ward scheme that would cause total infrastructure collapse. Without a shop to latch onto, the fūinjutsu would re-orient itself back to its opposite base function. Instead of becoming a fuin for containment, it would cease keeping things in and let everything out.

Sighing again, Naruto slid down a water pipe and landed in an alley. He had, at best, a couple of hours before he had to make it to his annual bonding session with Iruka at Ichiraku's.

Time was of the essence.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Naruto stared at the gigantic tree looming in front of him, each branch containing a vast assortment of tantalising fruits. Legend stated they had the potential to vastly increase chakra regeneration more quickly and safely than swallowing pills. Konoha's military strategy in using the fruits instead of chakra pills had always been the tide changer in every shinobi war.

The townspeople called it the Heart of the Leaf. Some said that the Shodaime Hokage had expended nearly the entirety of his reserves to birth and nurture this tree. Inside Konoha, the village could distribute as many fruits to its shinobi as it wanted, but once they were outside the village's boundaries the fruits would decay almost immediately.

As he made his way closer to the treeline, he could sense the vast collection of chakra bearing down on him, judging and screening his intent. No, there wasn't just chakra permeating the air, there was something primal along the perimeter of the tree.

They were seals. Seals of Mito's own design, boxing him in. The kind of seals that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

A tree branch soared overhead before plummeting to where he had been standing a second ago. Naruto stumbled back, panting for breath - his clumsy evasion had put him on the backfoot. Freezing in place, the redhead circulated his chakra, inerrantly aware of the fact the Hyūga watching could see its every motion in his body. _This is bad. Not only is the tree attuned to the Kyuubi's chakra, he and it be able to pinpoint my location no matter where I dodge. I need to leave._

Naruto almost flexed his chakra again, an increasingly familiar impulse taking hold, but he held himself back. It was an odd feeling. All shinobi, no matter their level, had something of a sixth sense for chakra. They could feel it build from outside themselves, even avoid attacks if they had good enough reflexes. But to actively sense and fight against an enemy by their intent alone? Such a level of perception of another person's chakra was just ridiculous.

The Hyūga dropped silently from the great tree, his white eyes blank and impassive where they rested on Naruto's form.

Luckily, Naruto didn't have the Kyuubi's consciousness intertwined with its chakra. If those all-seeing eyes had seen the seal at his navel, his entire subterfuge would have been shattered. Fūinjutsu or not, not even Naruto could have hidden the taint of the nine-tails.

His eyes saw the Hyūga standing confidently in front of him, clearly waiting for him to make the first move. His mind felt the Hyūga standing confidently in front of him, having already _made_ the first move. _I'm in a genjutsu,_ he realised. Mito's lessons with Tōka were a godsend. Now, the playing field was starting to get a little more even.

"This area is off limits," the man said as he channelled his chakra across the seal matrix of the tree, causing it to freeze in its movements.

"Really? There weren't any signs around," Naruto shot back, sticking out his tongue. Employing his mother's tactic of goading the enemy into action pretty much always worked, especially against enemies like the supercilious Hyūga clan.

The Hyūga sentry wrapped his fingers in a layer of chakra, his intent clear as day. The tree's guardian wanted to take him out as fast as possible, most likely for questioning.

Naruto withheld a twitch as his newest sense whispered a warning in his ear. His precognition screamed as chakra wrapped fingers nearly touched the base of his spine. _Genjutsu to mask his Shunshin. The one ahead is a fake, the one behind me is the real deal._ His analysis took a fraction of a second. The genjutsu dissolved in a blink of an eye as the Hyūga drove his fingers into the base of Naruto's spine remorselessly.

"How extraordinary. To react to my illusion that quickly is impressive, but you didn't just react. You subverted it and redirected it back at me."

The Naruto clone collapsed, losing its integrity and falling into a puddle. The droplets splashed down harmlessly, pooling at the long-haired Hyūga's feet.

Naruto breathed out heavily, sweat once again dripping from his brow. _That took way more chakra then it needed to._

Across from him, the Hyūga paused, aware enough finally to feel the veritable oceans of energy lying in wait just below the surface of his opponent. For one as young as the boy appeared to be, the technique should have laid him out flat. The fact that the child was still standing spoke volumes of his indomitable will.

There was only one known user in the village that possessed such chakra potency. But the last time he'd checked, he wasn't a redhead. "Uzumaki Naruto," he breathed, his beleaguered mind filled in the gaps from a jonin intelligence briefing a year previous, before he was stripped of his rank due to Hiashi, the Hyūga clan head.

"Kō Hyūga."

Kō's brow furrowed, the veins around his eyes becoming more prominent. "You know of me. How?" Naruto hesitated.

"I don't want to fight you," he said instead of answering. He held up his hands, trying to look non-threatening. "I know what Hiashi did after your supposed failure the night the Kumo delegation came looking for Hinata."

The byakugan remained active, and so did the wisps of blue chakra surrounding Kō's fingers. "How do you know of me?" he repeated, with anger this time.

Naruto sighed, taking a moment to think. To get that chakra paper he would have to have a rapport with the long-haired ninja. And as he was now, he could only think of one way to do that. "I know of you because I've seen what will happen to you in the future."

The chakra from the Hyuuga's fingers died down. "The _future_?"

"Finally ready to chat, huh?" His violet eyes glittered with dark amusement and barely bridled malice. Kō tensed involuntarily as Naruto reached into his pocket, only to pull out...a piece of paper.

"Here." With a soft trickle of chakra, Naruto sent the paper soaring into the Hyūga's already outstretched hands. His byakugan sensed an infinitesimal application of chakra and managed to catch the scrunched-up paper on reflex alone as it cut through the air towards his face. The other man smoothed out the paper, blank eyes widening in shock and fear when he caught sight of what Naruto had drawn.

"This is…but...how do you know of this?!"

"I told you Kō-san. I'm from the future. All I need is chakra paper from that tree over there, and I can remove that disgusting mark atop of your forehead." _If all else fails, I can channel the Kyuubi's chakra, and kill him if need be. Hashirama Senju's chakra is a Biju dampener, and with the amount of chakra saturating the area, the Sandaime won't be able to spy on me with his crystal orb._

Silence settled for a moment between Hyūga and Uzumaki.

Eventually Kō broke the silence. "I do not like seeing the tree harmed, no one in Konoha does. It is sacred, but…for such a purpose, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Go ahead, Uzumaki, take as much as you need."

Naruto grinned foxily as Kō deactivated his ocular power, stepping back to let him work. He asked for a kunai, which was thrown at him. He reached out to catch it, cutting indiscriminately at the thin paper sheets. It always helped to be cautious, and he didn't know when he'd need them next.

Now that he had what he'd come for, Naruto turned to the other man, gesturing for him to come closer. "Take off your headband."

Kō did as asked, taking off his black headband and revealing the Uzumaki kinjutsu seared into his very flesh. The light green mark gleamed eerily on his pale skin.

Placing the sheets down, Naruto waved the kunai across his wrist, slashing with carefully controlled force. Blood spurted from the wound even as his flesh sizzled shut. Wiping away the excess blood cascading down his fingers, Naruto began the arduous task of inscribing the paper with the appropriate kanji.

His task finished, Naruto blew on the damp paper, drying the bloody symbols. "Kō-san, brace yourself. This is going to hurt." The redhead placed the paper atop the Hyūga's forehead, covering the seal that was already there. Slowly, he channelled a trickle of chakra across its centre.

The Hyūga's screams when the chakra hit was music to Naruto's ears. A long time ago, he had screamed himself hoarse just like Kō was doing now. Of course, then, no one had listened to his pleas for mercy.

He ceased the flow of chakra, and the Hyūga cries subsided. Carefully, Naruto removed the chakra paper, now marred with the lurid green colour of the Hyūga clan's caged bird seal, from the other man's head. A short burst of chakra spurted from his fingers, and the paper burst into flame, crumbling to ash in his hand.

"You're no longer enslaved to the main branch."

The depths of Kō's gratitude couldn't be contained, as his eyes dropped tears, they cascaded down his cheeks, and for all the Hyūga haughtiness, he didn't make move to wipe them away.

Kō touched the top of his brow, expecting to feel the scar of his seal. Instead, unblemished skin met his fingertips. He couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. "You really are from the future."

A burst of killing intent smacked Kō across the face, knocking the air out of his lungs as sudden vertigo gripped him. He barely managed to control his gag reflex in time to hold back the nausea swelling in his stomach. "I'd appreciate if you don't tell anyone that little detail."

The red-haired jinchuriki watched impassively as Kō collapsed to his knees.

"You're all the same, you know. So much fear." Naruto surged forward, snarling, spitting the words like a curse. Kō blinked blearily, forcing his eyes open to see black sandals standing directly in front of him. He started as a small hand fisted itself in his hair, dragging his face up to look directly at the other shinobi.

"Kai."

Kō felt his chakra stutter for a moment as the boy stepped back, revealing a nightmare made reality. Naruto's eyes had taken on a blood red hue, darker even than his hair. Slit irises locked onto the older man, reaching deep into his soul.

"You. Will. Tell. No. One," Naruto said, each word emphasised with a burst of killing intent. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes," the Hyūga murmured back, subdued.

"You died in the future, Kō, executed by the man whose daughter you failed to save."

The sudden shift in conversation broke the Hyūga from his trance, as he finally understood the severity of the situation. "Wha…I died?!"

"Mizuki killed the future Hyūga clan head. Suffice it to say, Hiashi was furious. As her protector, you failed in your duty, and so, you were summarily executed behind closed doors."

"Is that why you were sent back?" Kō asked.

Naruto's strange, horrible eyes narrowed into slits, but the Hyūga managed to hold his gaze, refusing to flinch. "It's complicated," the boy said at last. "I was sent back to rectify the mistakes that men thrice my age shouldn't have made."

"But...can you still help me survive?" It wasn't an unexpected question. Self-preservation was the bane of many ninja. The callous disregard for life from everyone but their own was wired deeply into the shinobi system.

Killing intent knocked the air from Kō's lungs once more, the potency of the blow rendering it nearly physical. Naruto watched the older shinobi struggle to stay upright, visibly using every ounce of his willpower not to fall backwards from the force of his power. His face twisted in disgust.

Short steps carried the redhead to where Kō was slumped and he crouched down to eye level. The boy's head - the head of a five-year-old child - cocked to the side, those terrible eyes promising nothing but pain. "For you to survive, I need to get into contact with Hinata. Hiashi would never allow me to get close to her on account of me holding the Kyuubi."

"Hinata-sama?"He gulped, if the redheaded child was to believed, he was courting death with this request. Hiashi would kill him for insubordination.

"Yes. You're her custodian, you watch over her day and night. To prevent Mizuki from cutting her down before her time, I need to be able to protect her. Having access to her is a priority."

"I'll see what I can do."

Naruto's violet eyes gleamed. "I'll keep in touch."

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Deep within the bowels of the Forest of Death, in a nondescript clearing, sat a young child with hair the colour of fresh blood and eyes the colour of the brightest amethysts. He had thirty minutes before his impromptu dinner with Iruka.

Surrounding the boy were multiple papers, all containing different incomprehensible scribbles, designed to contain, restrict, limit and conceal. He had painstakingly carved them himself, using his blood as an anchor and his chakra as a base.

Carefully manipulating his chakra, Naruto sent tendrils to each seal with pinpoint accuracy. The entire clearing was being basked with a nimbus of silver light. It was only chakra-inhibiting seals that prevented him from being exposed. His hair began to stand on end, as the potency of his chakra reached its crescendo before flatlining.

He opened his eyes and smiled. The majority of his chakra was sealed behind the gate in which the Kyuubi's metaphysical apparition used to be trapped. It was quite fitting a use, to contain the darkest parts of himself there.

He stood and stretched, taking stock of his body. His hair and eyes had returned to their previous colouring, blue eyes and blonde hair. The density and sheer magnitude of his chakra had lessened considerably. Now, no one would know just what he was.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Naruto sat on a stool at Ichiraku's ramen stand, only partially paying attention to the jabbering of his Academy sensei as he idly stirred his chopsticks in his miso ramen broth. He hadn't even taken a bite, which would have normally been a cause for concern. But this was his and Iruka's first meeting in this timeline, and the chunin didn't know his mannerisms yet.

He hadn't expected the depths of Hiruzen Sarutobi's duplicity in controlling every manner of his life. The first time around, he had been so angry when he found out his first friendship had been nothing but a lie.

"And that's what I'll be! So, I-"

Iruka was regaling him with another story about himself and what he'd be likely to be teaching in the Academy. Naruto really couldn't say he cared. He wanted to leave the institution that was the Academy as soon as possible. But, he would be forced to experience all seven years again. Sometimes time travel could suck.

Naruto blinked his eyes open, a flash of irritation gripping him. Meditating was a new habit, and one he was still acclimating to; for the moment, the looming spectre of mental degradation in his near future wasn't helping his concentration.

He reached out as if meditating, immersing himself into his mind, imagining the sparkling decadence that was his chakra as stars in the night's sky. It was blinding and soothing all at once. He immersed himself in the veritable oceans contained within him, marvelling at the depth of his new power. One thing was certain - he wasn't the same man who'd lost to Madara in the timeline before.

A calm settled over him as his mind floated aimlessly through his life force. Thoughts of Akatsuki, Konoha, and his inevitable confrontation with Madara were pushed from his mind in favour of the puzzle that had presented itself to him.

He had his chakra sealed, and now he could attack his next greatest vulnerability. He needed to see a Yamanaka consultant.

— End of Chapter Two —

Edited on — 24/7/18

Special thanks to my betas — Strandshaper & Breathofmidnight.

This story was inspired from Dodging Prison & Stealing Witches, by LeadVonE. The author has given me permission to write this.


	3. Fragmentation of the Mind

**Chapter Three**

 **Fragmentation of the Mind**

"Excuse me, how much is that?"

"Way out of your price range. Now beat it kid."

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

"Please, I'm starving. I'll do anything for that loaf of bread!"

He heard the fist whistle through the air, but he just didn't have the energy to dodge as it impacted across the side of his cheek.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Closed cerulean blue eyes furrowed in anguish. Passers-by either judged from afar or openly pointed and laughed at his pain.

As the rain descended from the sky, peppering the boy with its unrelenting blows, he didn't know if it was water or salty tears cascading down his cheeks.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Another pair of cerulean blue eyes, unlike their counterpart's, were filled with joy, a foreign concept that the grown man-child had never experienced in the long tenure he'd been alive. The reason for his elation were the tendrils of chakra saturating the environment around him. Tendrils of his chakra.

He clenched his fist and observed the agitation of the tendrils as they churned overhead. He'd been practising with it for two weeks now, reining and unleashing his chakra on the denizens of the Forest of Death. It was his, and this time around he would never let anyone chain it.

Pressing his fingers to the crook of his elbow, he sent a trickle of chakra to the indiscernible blood kanji he'd engraved a fortnight ago. A notebook and pencil were neatly deposited into his waiting hands without any bloom of smoke or fanfare.

Pressing the tip of the pencil to his mouth, he sent an imperceptible amount of chakra coursing through it. Placing it on the paper, he began to write, sending minute amounts of his life force across its length. It was a technique he'd picked up from Mito — her skill with cypher encryption had been a key weapon against the other clans during the many skirmishes of the Clan Wars. Without the precise strokes of chakra transmitted into the paper, no one would know the contents of what he was writing.

Spring had gone in the two weeks since he had returned to Konoha. The sun soared overhead, warming him with its thermal energies. Naruto revelled in the anonymity the face he wore gave him; both civilians and ninja passed him by without a second glance. A perception filter, another of Mito's works of art, tailored to seamlessly blend reality and fiction, along with a standard transformation jutsu, made it so that he was hidden completely from sight and scent.

The two weeks weren't just wasted on experimenting with his chakra, but also hunting for his target. Chika Yamanaka was a Chūnin of renowned skill capable of precisely delving into the mind and rewiring its memetic structure.

The problem? He needed to speak to her, but he couldn't just register for an appointment. Konohanian law since the time of Tobirama Senju's inauguration made it abundantly clear that all appointments with the clan of mind-walkers had to be authorised and sanctioned by the arbiter of the village itself, the Hokage.

This distrust of the mind-walkers' power stemmed from the very beginning of the Clan Wars, when the Yamanakas ceded power to the Uchiha for protection. Their union had very nearly led to the utter ruination of the Senjus. A combination of the mental arts and illusions had planted deceitful suggestions and fabricated memories in the numerous brains of the Senju clan members. Brother turned on brother, father turned on son, as whole families were ripped apart.

Mito's memories of the events were especially distinct. The sky itself had wept when Tobirama Senju gazed upon the mass graves of his clan. Swearing vengeance, he alone went to break the Uchiha-Yamanaka alliance, no matter how much Hashirama had protested.

The silver-haired Senju had returned grievously injured but successful, with the Yamanaka clan heiress taken as his concubine, and the clan as a whole bending their knees, swearing fealty to the Senju's sovereignty.

This put Naruto in quite a conundrum. With Tobirama taking on Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, as a genin student, he had passed on his paranoia, and with the level of scrutiny that was on the young blonde demon container, anything but subterfuge and abduction would be met with swift reprisal.

The chakra that had been churning tumultuously overhead became quiet in an instant, the faint buzz that was associated with his life-force bearing down on the ground ceased as he made to stand. The face he wore rippled and changed, as another transformation jutsu forced itself over the existing one.

He had a mind-reader to catch.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Pain was a stimulant that was relentless and unyielding. It was also the first thing to return, whether if waking from a nap, or from a sharp blow to the back of the head.

Long blonde hair lay free flowing, falling to the curvaceous woman's back.

Blue eyes fluttered open, failing to hide the palpable fear in their depths. 'What hit me?' Chika thought groggily, bringing a hand to rest on her aching forehead. The moment it touched her skin, the floodgates opened. Waves of pain crashed into her, coursing through the entirety of her body, enough to drive her to her knees were she not already sitting down.

As a groan of pain escaped her lips, she fell forward reflexively, blonde hair billowing back and forth with the motion. She bolted upwards a moment later, an action she'd come to regret, as a scream escaped her chapped lips, white hot fire in her ribs necessitating nothing else.

Chika blinked, her memories reasserting themselves.

A regular check-up of a shinobi.

The appointment had slightly taken longer than anticipated.

On the way home, a warning; the slightest prickling of her heightened senses.

A blur of darkness stark against the red-brown pavement, a hand clamping down on the back of her neck, not realising until it was too late, darkness enveloping her vision, and waking up here, wherever here was.

A nearby voice spoke, drawling or perhaps growling its words. Each indistinct syllable sent pain through her throbbing head.

Chika nearly jumped out of her seat at the realization that she wasn't alone. The sudden motion sent a fresh flood of pain coursing through her. Her head snapped up regardless and she ignored the pounding in favour of trying – finally – to assess the situation. _'Stupid,'_ she chided herself. _'You're already on the back foot.'_

A blond man – a child, he's not tall enough' – leaned against the stone facade of the room she was trapped in, half shrouded in shadow. 'The black blur,' she confirmed, for everything the boy wore was black; from the tips of his sandals to his open collared sleeveless shirt and the half mask covering the bottom part of his face. The shock of blond hair atop his head stood out like a beam of sunlight after dark.

"If you've finished staring at me…" the boy began, in a guttural voice that sent Chika's head spinning, "I've got a couple questions for you."

Violet eyes pinned her in place, the quiet fury in them belying the boy's almost lazy tone.

"What do you want?" Chika whispered, feeling her heart rate spike. She shuffled in her seat, trying to avoid the violet stare. _'I'm not in chains,'_ she realized belatedly.

"Nothing you won't be prepared to give," the blur growled.

Chika managed to withhold a flinch, her faculties returning at long-last. _'You're a Chūnin, get ahold of yourself!'_ she commanded. She froze. _'Where's Sayō-chan and Hazushi-kun!?_ ' The thought clattered through her head, shocking reason and protocol back into her, even as she with great difficulty smothered the overwhelming fear she felt for her children's wellbeing.

Konoha had instilled more than the Will of Fire in its shinobi. These edicts were branded into their minds from a very young age:

A prisoner's first duty was to escape.

A prisoner could only repeat their name and rank.

A prisoner could say nothing about their mission, their comrades, or their village.

A prisoner's final duty was to die.

"Chika Yamanaka, Chūnin," she said at length, doing her best to remove all semblance of emotion from her voice.

The violet eyes rolled, though they appeared no less furious. "Oh, that's what we're doing here?" The boy sighed, though it came out more like a hiss. "Chika Yamanaka, Chūnin of Konoha. Student of Junko Takeuchi, known for your skills in the Yamanaka mind art secret techniques, and mother to Sayō and Hazushi Yamanaka. Husband killed in a skirmish during the beginning of the Third Shinobi War. That enough intel for you?"

Chika blinked, momentarily stunned by the brief deluge of information that no one outside Konoha's mission office and Hiruzen-san himself should know. She shook herself a moment later. "Chika Yamanaka, Chūnin," she repeated.

The blonde wearily closed his eyes. Two sets of consciousness had argued against his current course of action. Mito and Kushina had experienced the loss of family and argued against using them as potential bargaining chips, but he reassured himself that this was the only course of action. He didn't just have his ancestors' memories, but the feelings that came with them. Where did he start, and they end? It was all a conjoined mess, and without a Yamanaka, the fracturing of his mind would progressively get worse. Fūinjutsu could only do so much, he needed contingencies in case they failed. He only regretted the steps he had to take to acquire them.

Holding the ram hand sign, the blonde disseminated his chakra throughout the room, carefully nudging the Yamanaka with it. As their chakras touched, he snapped the illusion he'd forced her under.

The room twisted and warped, as Chika's nightmare was made reality. Her children stared out at the world with horrified eyes, and the sound of hissing made her heart drop. A snake was curled around both of her precious babies, each one as thick around as her waist. They coiled and uncoiled lazily around her spawn, the children's visible shivers of terror not registering in the slightest.

As Chika stared at him, her naked terror pleading with him, Naruto squashed the feelings of unease generated from experiences that were not his own. His blue-eyed stare moved to focus on his captives, and only then did he let the breath he didn't know he was holding be expelled. Sayō had her eyes locked on her captor, wide and almost disbelieving at the situation. It was Hazushi that hurt the most; his gaze turned downcast after the genjutsu was lifted, utterly resigned to whatever fate awaited him.

Unbridled fury gripped Chika. She exploded up from her chair, heedless of the pain, calling her still-free chakra to crush her foolish blond captor–

And barely had a moment to process a feeling of weightlessness before her back crashed into a wall of solid stone with enough force to crack it. She groaned, sliding to the floor, but she had barely enough time to blink before a vice grip closed about her neck. She reached to claw at it impotently, gasping for breath as she was unceremoniously lifted in the air.

His violet eyes stared up at her — if they had been furious before now they were positively livid.

"Strike one," the blond growled. "It seems the idiocy of Konoha is infallible."

 _'He's not using chakra.'_ The realisation pierced the haze of panic and pain clouding Chika's mind. She was a sensor-type, and there had been no surge, no rush, and no output of chakra even now as the boy effortlessly held her overhead. 'What is he!?'

She dropped back to the stone floor with a thump that set her nerve endings aflame, all the pain that had been in her body before seemingly magnified. Chika sucked in air like a woman dying of thirst, uncaring of the fire in her ribs.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood," the black-clad blond told her, walking back towards her poor, terrified children.

Chika tried to muster something, anything, to show them they could still make it out of this but felt herself quail at the immediate memory of being body slammed the moment she had tried to make a move.

"Normally I'd have killed one of these two for that idiotic move. I would be doing them a favour, if you're the best Konoha's got to fill their Chūnin ranks. They let anybody breed these days." He said with disdain.

Chika stared balefully at the boy – who might well have been younger than her children if not for that voice and those eyes – seeing underneath the underneath for the first time since she'd awoken. 'He's playing you like a goddamn fiddle.' She'd been easily provoked into a reckless attack, only been left unbound with her chakra loose to prove a point.

This boy, this monster, was the one in charge here.

 _'His reserves are massive,'_ Chika noticed, aware enough finally to feel the potent levels of titanic oceans of energy lying in wait just below the surface of her captor. Her eyes cut to the three snakes restraining her children, feeling herself go cold. They weren't snakes, but paper animated to resemble snakes, marked with numerous lines of indecipherable fuin.

"Chika Yamanaka," Naruto said unnecessarily. Familiar, smiling eyes stared back at her. Konoha's old Hokage overlapped the form of her captor. She had met Minato Namikaze once, but, whilst they shared similar facial features, the boy in front of her possessed cold dark chakra in comparison to the radiant warmth of the Yondaime. "Former elite Chūnin and B-ranked nin from Konoha."

"What do you want?" she said desperately.

"Finally ready to chat, huh?" Violet eyes glittered with some otherworldly taint as his chakra sparked the room around them, upsetting small amounts of debris.

"I want you to help me with something."

Chika scoffed. "If you wanted my help you're going the wrong way asking for it," she replied contemptuously.

It was the blonde's turn to scoff. "Whoever said I was asking?" Naruto said, his gravelly voice somehow relaxed.

"What do you want with me?!" Chika heard herself ask.

The chakra surged, seemingly knocking all breath from the woman as it wrapped around the region where her neck appeared to be. As the sounds of her gasps and chokes filled the room, Naruto returned to his original post in the shadows, leaning casually against the stone. He spoke with apathy. "The Yamanakas aren't your run-of-the-mill clan, they are capable of delving into the mind and correcting mental degenerative disorders." And was that actual bitterness in the boy's voice?

Chika kept her face carefully blank, memories of her father a rising tide she struggled to keep at bay. _'Remember, my child, our pride is our secret techniques. We must always adhere to the Yamanaka code of conduct.'_ Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah, I know your clan's whole story, so you don't have to worry about giving up secrets. I know a whole lot of things, so don't bother trying to lie either. Cause…well…" The blond sent a meaningful glance toward the two immobilised children, the papery coils of death tightening around their respective necks.

Naruto slackened his chakra's hold on the woman, and her next few words drew a smirk across his face.

"What do you need me to do?"

Two puffs of smoke answered her as his clones appeared behind either child, the animated paper snakes slithering away from them and rested on his duplicates' shoulders. In the depths of their eyes pulsed iridescent purple fire, reflected from where their flaming fingers flexed above the children's heads.

A whimper escaped Chika's lips as the boy showed his sharp molars, the fox-like gleam in his eyes intensifying. "Don't try anything funny."

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

 _'The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing.'_

These words had been drilled deeply into the Yamanaka clan, and they were words that Chika had learnt by heart. She was psychically tethered to her captive now, her corporal body left behind, as their metaphysical consciousness' melded in perfect unity, conforming together in a knot tied to his mindscape.

Whatever she was expecting, this wasn't it.

Sewage water encompassed the floor around her, and the smell was overwhelming. She only just resisted the urge to gag.

It was a public misconception that the eyes were the gateway to the soul. Common civilian drivel. The actual gateway was the mindscape, and in all her years of mitigating the damage and trauma that shinobi faced, she had never faced such irreparable mental scarring. Not even Kakashi Hatake had suffered this badly, and he had plunged a lightning coated hand through his own teammate.

"You can guess who I am, can't you."

It wasn't a question, more a statement. She turned to look at him, abject horror beginning to grip her in its vice. His name died on her lips. _'Naruto Uzumaki.'_

She had expected to witness the brunt of the Kyuubi's malevolence, but all that greeted her sight was an empty expanse, a giant cage with no prisoner and a seal that eluded her understanding locking it in place.

Her mind connected the dots as his form rippled and stretched. The slight nuances of his body transformed to fit his original self.

"Now you see why I needed to get you here. You would never have helped had I not forced you to." Gone was the gravelly tone, replacing it was a child's tenor. Only this was no child speaking, there were iron tones to the boy's voice that had no reason to be present, and in that moment, Chika could almost see shadows of the man this boy would become in his violet eyes.

A crack began to form along the wall of the boy's mindscape, a pipe popped from the pressure, spewing more dirty water, mixing it with the resident pool.

"You're dying…"

The boy seemed to smile, a small upturn of his lips, before it faded as soon as it showed. He held out both arms, as if welcoming the damage, "I need you to mend the insurmountable gap between my memories and I. Differentiating between them is difficult, and they need to go in there," he pointed at the cage, "until I'm ready to deal with them."

She thought of her children, left to the mercy of this demon – no, this child, no older than her son. Could she turn him away, knowing that without her help, he would die from cognitive dissonance and possibly unleash the very beast the Yondaime gave his life to seal away?

She steeled herself, hands glowing with chakra, as she beckoned Naruto over. When he reached a respectable distance, she placed both palms on either side of his head, and pushed, completely and utterly entwining themselves together. She experienced everything he had ever experienced in flashes of segmented clips, and he relived it all.

He was Mito Uzumaki, slender and tall, gazing at an even taller Shodaime Hokage as he wore the Hokage hat for the first time, a smile on his face that caused trees to grow all around.

He was Kushina Uzumaki, sword in one hand, chakra chains ripping through a red flak jacket belonging to an Iwa ninja, the gurgle of blood expelling from his lips before being planted in the way of his allies jutsu, remorselessly being used as a human shield.

He was Naruto Uzumaki, and he was in the _Sarutobi_ compound!?

He focused on this memory, whilst Chika worked to glue the cracks. They would never be repaired, but the damage could be lessened considerably. This, however, was a memory he never remembered experiencing. He delved in with all the tact of his namesake, a maelstrom.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat rocking on his chair, reading a small children's book to three infants. One was already fast asleep, the little tyke's breathing calm and relaxed. The other two were a set of twins, identical down to their faint tufts of blond hair. He didn't need to move to a better vantage spot to conclude that they also possessed cerulean blue eyes. He could see one beginning to lull to sleep, but the other was attentive and awake.

As the last dregs of awareness left one of the twins, Sarutobi closed the book. A fond smile on his lips, he moved to tuck the sleeping child in, a blanket embroidered with the letter N.U denoting who it belonged to.

The words came out distorted and faint as the Hokage picked up a bundle cocooned in a blanket with the letter M.U stitched along its side, nose wrinkled as he smelled the child. Shaking his head with levity, he left the room, child in tow.

The scene twisted and turned, shifting to one that drew muted shock to Naruto's face. The bubbling froth of hate surrounded his younger body, he didn't know for how long, but he knew the muted scream of 'Konohamaru' was too late…

The rush of vomit escaping his lips did nothing to alleviate the terror of what he'd just witnessed. Tremors wracked his form, moving him close to near tears.

What had he done?

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Feet planted firmly in his physical body, he watched as Chika's jutsu ended its hold, the tumultuous link connecting them mentally, snapping.

She slumped, eyes rolling to the back of her head as the drain of viewing so many memories in quick succession knocked her out.

His uncontrolled chakra churned as it suffocated her children, they joined their mother in the realm of dreams.

Turning to regard his clones, he mentally commanded them to add numerous fūinjutsu to the captured Yamanaka. Memory suppression, memory deletion, falsified experiences, notifying him if their minds were ever searched. He dispelled them after their task was completed. He had one last seal to add to them, and if his hand shook while doing it, he tried his very best to ignore it.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Naruto Uzumaki spent the remainder of the night culling the animal population of the Forest of Death. Not once did the tears abate, or refuse to stop falling.

His fists impacted another tree, the growing mantra reverberating around his head.

It's my fault… It's all my fault…

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Cross legged, and eyes closed, Naruto was meditating deeply, compartmentalising what he had learned hours previously. The sun was breaking the horizon, bathing the forest in golden daylight. The dull and repetitive sounds of fists impacting wood had long since passed. Taking the time to immerse himself in serenity, he pushed the memory deep into the recess of his mind, never to see the light of day again.

He finally understood the Sandaime's hatred for him. It all made sense, but coming to grips with it was impossible. He had been only a child himself. If anyone had to be blamed, it was the fox.

'Ahh. But the fox was blamed.' His mind answered sardonically. As it's warden, the brunt of their anger was taken out on him. An innocent child.

Naruto traced his fingers where his faded seal once was. All it contained now was the brunt of the nine-tail's chakra. His father, for all his genius, had been in a rush the night of the attack. And his lapse in judgement had weakened the seal's structure, giving the Kyuubi enough influence to wreak destruction.

The time for pondering and reminiscing about the past was over. He had these memories for a reason. And he was going to use them to alter the future, but, he couldn't undertake the momentous task alone. His brother had done so, and he had failed miserably.

He needed allies. Kō had been a good start, and with him came the heiress to the Hyūga clan.

His seal tied the girl's bodyguard to his will, unbeknownst to the man, he had swapped one master for another.

He had at the very least mitigated the damage with the unwilling aid of the Yamanaka, but that wouldn't be enough. His next conquest would be the heiress herself. Even after that, he would have an abundance of battles to fight. His enemies would be smited with impunity, all that he had lost would be repaid in full. He was Naruto Uzumaki, son to the noble household of Uzushiogakure, and now he had the freedom to act like it.

— End of Chapter Three —

A couple of readers joined together and have made a Discord server for this story. If you would like to get early screenings of future chapters, discuss the story with other readers, or just have a chat, feel free to join. The link is on my profile. [Without spaces.]

Special thanks to my betas — Strandshaper & Breathofmidnight

This story was inspired from Dodging Prison & Stealing Witches, by LeadVonE. The author has given me permission to write this.


	4. (Oaths) Fire and Lightning

**Chapter Four**

 **(Oaths) Fire and Lightning**

 _"I had never seen eyes so old, never conceived such unfathomable isolation behind that frigid glare."_

Uzumaki Naruto, leader in all but name of the ruinous land of Uzushiogakure, did not react in any way to the words reverberating around his thoughts. When his attention span lapsed, fragmented memories of the future and present splintered further, making it hard to tell the difference between the two. This was something that Yamanaka Chika was unable to heal, since the slips in thought process ran too deep for her to fix.

The last time he had heard the Ice Princess' voice was when they had both been languishing in the dark cells of Hōzuki Castle. Now that he had found the clarity that had eluded him in the brig, the distinction of pain between him and her had been insurmountable. As the host of the nine tailed demon fox, there was only so much physical pain they could inflict on him before the beast reared its head. His mental fortitude, on the other hand, had been an unassailable wall, heavily fortified from the memories he had managed to wrest from the demon fox.

Haku, on the other hand, wasn't given a moment of respite. From her very conception, Kirigakure had hunted her for the bloodline coursing through her veins.

Once upon a time, the ability to mould water and wind elemental releases to create ice style ninjutsu would have been highly valued and sought after. Unfortunately, those times had waned, and Kiri's BUNSHŌ were given special dispensation from the Mizukage to hunt the aberrations that were bloodline users. The last thing she had said to him, before she had speared her wrists with freshly created ice senbon, was to survive for both of them.

Her death had left him bereaved and broken, enabling the fox to nourish itself on his negative emotions. It had been bad enough that he had to hear her screams when the guards entered her cell; it was even worse when the fox twisted his imagination and showed him the possibilities of what they could have done to her.

The boy did not react visibly but inwardly acknowledged the ghost of his past, and silently vowed he would prevent Haku from suffering the depravity of Hōzuki Castle again.

The matriarchs of Clan Uzumaki, whose thoughts, feelings and memories littered his subconscious, had taught him how to lie not just with his face, but his body and mind. For the insurmountable task ahead, he would have to use every skill at his disposal.

After all, the Bloody Mist did not take any prisoners.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Askari Toyohashi was a harsh man; years of fighting the Yondaime Mizukage's crusade against bloodline users had tempered his desire for blood. He was past his prime, which was rare for a shinobi, especially considering the nation he hailed from. He had gazed at destruction and misery, and every slash of his blade had felled many. It was a vicious cycle they lived in, where the strong ruled the weak however they desired.

He was here at the personal behest of some of the members of the highest echelons of Kirigakure's administration to oversee the progression of their latest batch of soldiers. His genin team trudged behind him, the gates of Konoha coming into view over the horizon.

"Yagura-Sama has a lot invested in you securing victory in this year's Chūnin Exams. He will be most displeased if we are to return without triumph." A spasm of pain flashed across his features as his raspy voice finished speaking, the scar running across the width of his throat twisting and contorting.

He continued his spiel, "Konoha sits to our west over the bypass of Wave, and Kumogakure to the north. Ninja all over the Elemental Nations will be in attendance. You are to show them that our village's might has not waned, our next generation is fit, and that we will take any mobilisation as a direct threat of war and plan accordingly. Any state that has notions of accommodating bloodline scum will experience the depths of the water's pressure."

Fingers palmed a kunai, desiring nothing more than ramming it hilt deep in the scarred man's skull, but the grip relaxed, even if the mind behind the hand was still wracked with anger. It wasn't the first time that prejudiced words would be spoken, and it wouldn't be the last.

At the front gates of Konoha, two Chūnin manned the opening, their growing annoyance at the queue milling around written on their faces as plain as day. Some were merchants desiring to barter their goods, others were participants for the Exams, and none of them were going through the line quickly.

The line eventually diminished, allowing the guards to let out a sigh of relief. They comforted themselves by sitting, alleviating their feet of the strain of standing. "Damn Genkai, how many does that make today?"

The now named Genkai turned his head. "Ingoing or outgoing?" he pointed to his right, which had two stacks of documents, each easily the size of a small child in height. "Either way, I think we may have just collectively beat the record for most amount of paperwork signed by gate guards in a single day."

The other Chūnin let out a derisive snort, "We'd better get an award for dealing with these people's shit. If I have to deal with another wannabe kid genius forgetting their identification, I'll wring their necks."

Genkai laughed uproariously, patting his comrade on the arm. "Relax Enmei, isn't it good enough we get to meet all these weird people?"

Enmei merely snorted. "I don't care how fun they are. Unless they have a decent rack and a pretty face, I don't really give a shit."

Genkai shook his head at his friend's hormone fuelled annoyance. He had gotten used to his various quips over their long years of shared comradery. Rather than responding, he looked towards the path… only for his eyes to expand and his lip to begin quivering.

Enmei groaned. "Oh come on! Please tell me we aren't getting another rush? We just finished the last one three minutes ag-AGHH!" Genkai grabbed Enmei by his ear and made him look down the path, resulting in the exact same reaction.

Instead of a crowd of puffed up merchants, walking down the path towards the village were four figures, obviously shinobi if their stance was anything to go by.

The first figure was of average height, with a soft and hairless body. He had a nondescript face, beardless and ordinary, with his only noticeable feature being the jagged pink scar across his throat. He surveyed them with eyes paler than rust and darker than midnight. Short, strong fingers passed over identification papers.

The other figures were evidently the man's genin team. Two male, one female. Unlike their sensei, the males were wrapped from head to toe with black attire. Even their faces were covered. The only telling sign of their village allegiance was the gleams of Kirigakure headbands.

The last figure was without a doubt the most noteworthy of the party. Her splendour was peerless; she was one of the most beautiful kunoichi Enmei and Genkai had ever seen. Auburn hair fell to the small of her waist, tied into a herringbone pattern at the back, with a topknot tied with a dark blue band. She had four bangs accentuating her delicate facial features, two of them long enough to cross over her chest, while the shorter ones covered her right eye. The remaining left eye had a light green tint, shining with hidden mirth as it entranced the two teenagers. Her attire revealed everything and nothing at once. A long-sleeved dark blue dress that fell just before her knees was coupled with standardised kunoichi shorts underneath, and completing her outfit was a pair of high-heeled sandals.

When the three reached the front desk Enmei and Genkai found themselves readjusting their belts, thankful for the bagginess of their trousers. Light blushes dusted the young boys' cheeks as they looked bashfully away from the short girl who had yet to reach the cusp of puberty.

They continued to stare long after the group left.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

"Good work Mei." And he meant it, the girl was a true kunoichi, a force to be reckoned with. Her female wiles were used for maximum effect; only ninja who'd mastered their bodies could see through her glamours.

The compliment washed over her with cool professionalism. She despised their gazes on her, undressing her with their eyes. Still, it was a common occurrence, and a prerequisite for her to become a Genin of Kirigakure. They had taught her how to use every curve she possessed to her nation's advantage, how to manipulate the way she spoke, telling her what she would wear for maximum effect. The oppressive blue fabric showed the world where she originated from, her hairstyle cemented the exotic water tribe look.

She hated them for it.

She watched the Rebels fight and die in the name of freedom. They spoke of liberty and justice. But for _who_?

She didn't feel free.

They walked slowly down the streets of Konoha, taking in the sights. It was rare for foreign ninja to enter other Hidden Villages; this opportunity was once in a lifetime.

"Keep your skills sharp, you three. I have matters to attend to." In a Shunshin the man departed, his destination unknown.

That was how things were done in Kiri. Superiors gave orders, and they were followed without question or room for deviation.

Mei released a long and drawn out sigh, before turning and making her way to the available training ground, her teammates following her gormlessly. They had time to kill before the Exams started.

One day her village would be free from Yagura's tyrannical reign.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Daylight turned to darkness, and night turned to day, over and over again, slowly passing into weeks, as Naruto continued to immerse himself in the map of the Elemental Nations he had pilfered from a passing merchant.

Mito's memories of the terrain were out of date. With all the battles fought in the area between the lands of Water and Fire, the landscape had been reshaped over and over again. He would have to rely more on Kushina's memories in this instance.

The avenues to enter Kirigakure were limited. A direct approach through the Land of Waves was unfeasible, as it served as an outpost for Konoha to detect naval movement that the Bloody Mist may potentially deploy. There were too many ninja there for him to work his way through.

His best bet was to travel north, taking the main road through Okame Gai and continuing east from there, moving past the Land of Fire territory and entering the Land of Hotsprings. He wouldn't waste time with aimless wandering. However, instead of continuing the path north to the Hidden Spring village, he would cut to the east, reaching Haran Bay.

He traced the area of the map with his fingers, lost in his own memories. Won from the Land of Fire in the First Great Shinobi War and held by a skeleton BUNSHŌ force ever since, more battles had been fought between Konoha and Kirigakure in that narrow plot of land than anywhere else in the Elemental Nations. The frequent battles between the two great villages had wrought untold devastation to an otherwise prosperous harbour. Once it had been a haven for merchants and a profitable environment for the Lands of Frost, Hotsprings and Lightning. Now no boats docked at its shores.

In the Second Great Shinobi War, Konoha had tried and failed to retake the land, not out of sentimental value, but the key strategic value it provided in allowing Konoha's troops to reach its long-time ally Uzushiogakure. In its reclamation, an entire platoon of Leaf-Nin led by Haruno Haru forced their way desperately through Kirigakure's lines in an attempt to get to the island of Uzu. The enemy lines had been defeated too easily, and the Leaf-Nin had advanced right up the amalgamation of islands separating the Kaizoku Sea from the Kanashii Ocean. By the time the squad leader Haru had realised that it was a trap, it had been too late. The S-rank leader of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and his six subordinates had lied in wait. In under two hours, the bay's waters had been drenched with the blood and bodies of the fallen squadron, and not a single Mist Nin had been defeated.

To this day, the Bay was colloquially referred to as Haruno's Harangue.

Konoha had made it mandatory for new enterprising commanders to learn from the Nara Clan on exactly what not to do when trespassing on enemy territory. Haru had overextended, deployed his forces with limited intelligence on enemy forces and composition, and failed to protect his supply lines. In many ways, it was fortunate that he had died during the ambush.

Seven hours later, the Sandaime Hokage sent his response. Deploying the Eternal Genin Might Duy, backed by the White Fang and some of his trusted Jonin, he showed Kirigakure just how much Sarutobi 'appreciated' the subterfuge. The enemy encampments were levelled, and along the coast of the Lands of Noodle and Hotsprings, several bays and inlets had been formed as a result of the sheer destruction that had been wrought. The second Leaf-Nin invasion was much more thorough and devastating than the first, and twelve hours later, Konoha had taken the fundamentally important bay back. The White Fang claimed his third S-ranked kill that day, with only two survivors of the prestigious swordsmen fleeing back to the Land of Water with the blades of the fallen.

Unfortunately, their win had not been without cost; Might Duy would never be known as the Eternal Genin again, his bravery and Will of Fire passed onto his son, and his name would forever be spoken in reverence for his aid in defeating four of the seven singlehandedly.

The Swordsmen had achieved their goal though; help had arrived too late for Konoha's oldest and staunchest supporters. The Uzumaki Clan was lost to the wind, scattered amongst the various nations.

Subsequently, the White Fang and his entourage were forced to retreat from Kirigakure's counter-offensive, where the Second Mizukage deployed both of his Jinchuuriki and drove away the encroaching Leaf-Nin. With devastating losses taking place in the Land of Rain, and a renewed offensive from Kumo driving into the Land of Fire, the bay had never been reclaimed by Konoha.

But soon, it would have a special visitor.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Her body was awake and alert long before her alarm began to blare. She shushed it absently, continuing to stare blankly at the picture that held her attention.

Terumi Yōgan's hands were clasped behind his back, she knew, a proud smile etched forever onto his face. Kazangan held his right hand in a fist, too-sharp incisors bared at the camera in a feral grin; Miho perched on her brother's shoulders, happy as she had ever been.

She glanced to her own face, lingering pride at her brother for having passed Kiri's probation to become a full-fledged genin clear in her eyes. Barely more than four years ago…

It felt like a lifetime before Mei finally let her eyes rest on the final member of the Terumi family. Hinagiku's auburn hair shone like a setting sun, her lips barely parted in a satisfied smile that stretched her cheeks, showcasing her dimples.

She waited patiently, seafoam eyes locked on the face of her former parents, siblings, and ties to the past, for the familiar empty pangs that would leave her breathless and teary eyed. She hadn't once looked at the old photo in the six months since her family had perished. Hadn't been able to bring herself to look at the faces of the people who had been able to calm her down and set her heart racing in equal measure.

Mei blinked, cocking her head to the side. "Only takes six months, then," she murmured, surprised in spite of herself.

There was no manual for getting over a loved one's death. No-one that she could talk to or see. It took time to stop seeing the people as alive, with no chance of returning to the pure world. No one could pinpoint just how much time, however.

Better than the alternative, she told herself distantly, feeling her heart rate spike. It wasn't heartache that made her short of breath these days. "Wouldn't want to be a blubbering mess when I get my hands on you." Her eyes narrowed, simmering anger a familiar comfort, the very air surrounding her taking on a hazy hue.

"I'm coming for you," she growled at nothing. "And you're going to be sorry you ever made me feel like this. I promised." She stared at the smiling photo for a long moment before she shook herself.

How she hated the name Karatachi Yagura.

"Get a hold of yourself, Mei," she told herself. You're talking to a damn picture. She breathed deeply, once, twice, three times, and blinked her eyes open once more.

 _'Pain was inevitable, suffering is optional.'_

She tore the old family photo roughly, without a word, removing her parents and siblings third of the picture the same way they had left her behind in the pure realm. The intact two-thirds left over drifted to the floor of her hotel room lazily before she caught them. She rose abruptly, striding to the far wall. Mei placed the torn photo pieces at eye level, holding them between her index and middle fingers. They began to darken and smoke, crumbling slowly in her hands.

Firmly in control of her emotions, she spared one last glance at the ashes before sweeping away toward her bed. Mei firmly fixed her hairband to her hair, transforming her looks into its customary topknot and herringbone pattern.

Two quick steps carried her to the window that led to her fire escape, and she wasted no time slipping out. A quick flip carried her over the edge and upward to the roof of her three-story building.

She had training to do.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Naruto rose from his crouch, wrapping up the map scroll, and left, not bothering to acknowledge the congregation of civilians going about their business. They ignored him, a welcome change from their usual routine of scorning and spitting at the ground he frequently walked upon.

Their ignorance was due to the face he wore. He moved as a woman to match the age he appeared to be, hunched over and shuffling slowly. It took him several minutes to reach the shadows of a nearby alley, but the blonde who had once been a prisoner had learned patience, the patience of a starved man, the patience of a man on a mission. A mission to turn a dream into reality.

He straightened, dispelling the old woman visage with a quick application of chakra, then launched himself upwards with a distinctly animal grace, using one wall as a springboard to grab the lip of the other before flipping himself over with one hand to land soundlessly on the roof above. He didn't need to travel the roofs of Konoha like that, but truth be told, he enjoyed being closer to the stars. It was the little things that made him grateful for his freedom.

The Chūnin Exams were the perfect cover to slip out of the village's confines. But first, he needed to mitigate the Sandaime's crystal orb, and he knew just the way to do it. Sending a minute amount of chakra to the soles of his feet, he jumped and let the body flicker carry him to his destination.

He arrived, disorientated and sluggish. The body flicker wasn't designed for such low application of chakra, but he dared not hurry for fear that the higher use of chakra inherent in forcing a faster acceleration would be noticed.

Minutes crawled by until finally Naruto felt the internal snap that signified the restoration of his faculties. The disorientation lessened before becoming non-existent, and the sluggishness dissipated.

Naruto formed a single hand sign, chakra rotating throughout his coils errantly, and concentrated. _"Kage Bunshin no jutsu,"_

With a deluge of smoke, an exact copy of himself was slowly ushered into shape, colour flooded into the duplicate's face, and Naruto studied his Kage Bunshin. The clone stood ramrod straight, awaiting further instructions, which he proceeded to give it. The doppelganger nodded at him before laying down on the grassy floor and staring up at the night sky.

Naruto sent a minute amount of chakra through the many invisible tattoos etched on his right, inner forearm. An inkpot was neatly dropped into his awaiting hands, grabbed out of the air before it fell and splattered. He unscrewed the lid and dipped the brush into the dark liquid. Drawing the wet brush out, he pressed the slimy tip to the skin of his clone and began to swiftly trace out a series of arcane symbols.

If anyone was to see what he was doing, they'd be surprised at his alacrity. He moved with the speed of a master, something which should have been impossible at his young age. Naruto painted each seal and activated them one at a time with a consistent barrage of chakra. The clone nodded again, signifying the success of their tethering.

Naruto internally relished in the feeling of relief. He had been unsure if Mito's experiments in using blood as a conduit for sealing matrixes would work on artificially created constructs. But the anchor his blood provided would allow his clone to tap into his reserves to sustain its existence without worrying about physical degeneration.

"Here," he proffered his clone a scroll which was deftly taken. It was a storage helix, conjoined with a containment axiom. "It has enough chakra to sustain another clone. Use it only if you absolutely need to."

Naruto gave his clone a slight nod, before forming the ram hand sign, and enveloping his body in a summoned cloak.

Drawing the hood of the cloak over his head, Uzumaki Naruto turned around, not giving his clone a look back.

It was time to journey to Kirigakure no Sato.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Mei ducked and pivoted on her feet, parrying away several shuriken with her kunai while simultaneously avoiding the swipe of a glowing blueish blade. The soil beneath her feet had been dampened with previous exchanges of water ninjutsu, and her feet sagged slightly as she backpaddled, staying on the defensive.

Her brother had once said that a genin squad was like a family away from home. These two brutes that she had the misfortune of being saddled with did not meet that definition, warranting nothing but disdain from her.

The older Genin clad all in black was a blur to her senses, his blade whistled through the air as it made to strike at her again and again in an attempt to stop her from utilising her greatest strength, her chakra.

Above them both was his partner, flittering between the canopy above, providing long range support by peppering kunai and shuriken at her. All she could see was a flicker moving from one tree to the next. Mei tracked it even as she dodged, ducked and weaved the projectiles.

There was a tell-tale sign of smoke, denoting a switching technique, as the long reach of her teammate was swapped for the shorter range of the teammate that had once been atop tree branches flinging kunai.

Holding a single hand sign, it seemed as if Mei was too slow in jumping back. The genjutsu her teammate had prepared ensnared her in its depths, blurring her vision. Bright flashes of light and hazy swirls appeared in the corner of her eyes. Simultaneously, a cacophony of blaring shrieks and hair-splitting screeches reverberated within her ears.

They both approached her leisurely, the urgency gone now that their quarry was indisposed. It was a well-coordinated and effective strategy meant to disable and capture an uncooperative target.

It would have worked, if they hadn't decided to play with their food first.

Water-elemental chakra burst from the tenketsu in her throat, reacting with her internal bodily fluids. She made sure to keep it separated from her bloodline limits, lest she accidently burn her teammates. Her chest bulged with the sudden expansion of liquid. Mei reared back her head, and spat out a seemingly never-ending river of crystal-clear water. The raging river of water washed over the clearing and caught both of her teammates by surprise.

Both of them were picked up and buried under the veritable tidal wave. She kept the current steadily running before abruptly cutting it off. Her teammates had long since succumbed to their injuries, eyes rolling to the back of their heads, knocked out.

With a single flair of her chakra, Mei broke the chakra-transmitted neural impulse, feeling a mild sense of relief as the disorientating stimuli was purged from her senses. It was short-lived, ending as soon as she glanced at her fallen teammates.

This is what the Mizukage wanted her to work with, braggarts and perpetual laziness all wrapped up into two packages that were only technically classified as her teammates. Everything was rooted on her winning the Chūnin Exams, and with the performance of her team she had just witnessed, it seemed as if she was going to have to carry them as well as herself to victory.

She aimed a kick at one of them contemptuously. If they didn't win, she would lose the sponsorship deal which facilitated her career as a ninja. She shuddered, a feeling of cold dread slowly seeping throughout her core which not even her bloodline limit could warm.

Today's win didn't ensure tomorrow's victory. She might lose her patronage a year from now, but as she clenched her fists, the nails digging into her palms, she vowed to not squander her current opportunity in the Chūnin Exams.

— DC & SK: SWTPE —

Uchiha Sasuke exhaled slowly as his kick split the air. Pulling it back at the knee, while still keeping the leg airborne, he kicked out once more, just as slowly.

He had been doing a lot of that lately. Unfortunately, his brother would constantly brush him off, being less than helpful in his endeavours to better himself. When confronted, he always cited that there would be a 'next time,' which there never was.

He had even asked his mother for training tips, but she had said he needed a more solid foundation before he could learn more advanced techniques. Sasuke was starting to see what she meant.

Before, he would have simply brushed her comments off, disregarding them in the face of his undeniable Uchiha ancestry. It turned out that his clan's bloodline wasn't a step up, but was instead merely a tool to better oneself. He had Uchiha Itachi to thank for that little lesson.

He couldn't even ask his blessed father. He was a busy man, Clan Head of the Uchihas as well as being the leader of the Police Force. He had no time for his second son, nor would he spare any if he did. Sasuke wasn't Itachi. He wasn't good enough to get special training from their father.

That, naturally, had led him to where he was now, dancing through the Academy's taijutsu katas. Well, for all his gifted Uchiha fluidity, he stumbled through each step. It turned out that learning taijutsu wasn't all that easy on one's own. Scrolls could only help so much, as one couldn't really be sure if they were doing the move correctly. Stances were hard to gauge, proper footing was impossible to know, one could never be sure of blocks, and most all but the simplest manoeuvres were almost out of reach, if one wanted to do them right that is.

Learning subpar taijutsu from a scroll was easy.

Sitting on the grass gently, Sasuke pulled a ball of bandages from his hip pouch. He began wrapping his hands in the gauze. It was all practise to reach the high standards of his brother and also become acknowledged by his aloof and distant father. When he didn't move through the katas of the Academy, he let his frustration out on logs. It was monotonous, but it helped strengthen his fists, and slowly but surely lessen the gap between Itachi and him, therefore he deemed it useful.

If it helped him acquire his father's acknowledgement, it was useful, and if it was useful, he did it. That was part of his nindo manifesto. His ninja way.

Punching, at least, was something he knew he was doing correctly. It was one of the few physical things the Academy taught them at their current age, the rest of the syllabus focusing on inane subject matters. 'Useless teachers,' the raven-haired boy thought uncharitably.

Brooding and negative thoughts weren't something Sasuke liked to dwell on most of the time. They certainly didn't help keep his spirits up with his new endeavor, but he found himself having them more and more regardless. This was especially the case when the various offences against him kept piling up. Just the other day he had overheard his father speak to his mother about his quality as a shinobi, and how when Itachi had been his age, he was already on his way to becoming a Jonin. Discussions like that were becoming more and more common.

Day by day, his dreams of acknowledgment and acceptance from his family were slowly becoming distant memories.

Fury spiked through him. Why couldn't his father see that he wouldn't ever be a carbon copy of Itachi?

The training log met his fist and with a brutal 'crunch,' the log splintered, and Sasuke recoiled in pain, before deflating. He had channelled all of his pent-up anger into that punch and still the log hadn't broken completely.

"Damn it…" He cursed softly, cradling his bleeding arm, the precious red liquid seeping into his bandages.

Suddenly, a hand came to rest on his shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise. He turned around, eyes widening in shock.

Seafoam eyes hidden under auburn hair regaled him with warmth.

"Your punch lacked direction, you need to have your hand flow through the log, not just aim to strike it." Even her voice was melodic, the tinkering sound caused Sasuke to lean into her touch, before he composed himself, wrenching himself free from her hold. He eyed her coolly.

"Who are you?"

She held her hands up in a non-threatening gesture, "Terumi Mei, just passing by. You?"

He wanted to brush her off, his mother had cautioned him against talking to strangers, but she also advised showing respect to girls.

"Uchiha," he said proudly. "Uchiha Sasuke."

The warmth seemed to freeze in her eyes, before returning momentarily. "Would you like some pointers with the punching?"

"You? No offence but I don't thin—"

A rain of sharp wooden chips filled his vision, and when he looked at her she had her hand outstretched, an expectantly smug grin writ across her face, the log broken in two at the seam.

"Hn."

She laughed.

— End of Chapter Four —

A couple of readers joined together and have made a Discord server for this story. If you would like to get early screenings of future chapters, discuss the story with other readers, or just have a chat, feel free to join. The link is on my profile. [Without spaces.]

Special thanks to my beta — Strandshaper and the Twisted Mind Editorial participants. Solite, and The Jingo.

This story was inspired from Dodging Prison & Stealing Witches, by LeadVonE. The author has given me permission to write this.


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